Print Blog
Email a FriendWell, we didn’t have a creative way, but I know a couple who, to tell their children ordered a pizza from Domino’s and asked the people at Domino’s to spell the gender out in pepperoni on the pizza. The couple didn’t say anything and it took a few minutes before the oldest child asked, “Why does the pepperoni spell out “BOY?” What a fun way for kids to find out and how awesome the Domino’s employees didn’t bat an eyelash and just went with it!
The Big Reveal
a clever approach
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Wednesday, April 06, 2011 10:11 PM
In one of the cutest methods I’ve seen for revealing baby’s gender, one Catholic blogger writes about the fancy cupcakes she used to share the news.
We’ve never found out our baby’s gender in advance—after the first three boys, I decided that finding out when I was actually meeting the baby was going to be my best option. Otherwise I ran the risk of feeling emotional (and not in a good way).
But so many people find out these days (my sonographer said it’s around 70 percent) that I’m curious if you have a fun story to share about how you broke the news. If you have found out your baby’s sex at the sonogram, how did you share it with others?
Comments
Page 1 of 1 pages
Our ultrasound tech this week told us that she’s actually seeing a swing back towards not wanting to find out the gender - that only about 50% of the patients she sees want to find out now. So I thought that was surprising. One of my good friends had the tech write the gender on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope, and then they took it to a local bakery to have them make a cake that was either pink or blue inside. They had both sides of the family over for dinner the next night, and then everyone found out at the same time when they cut into the cake! I thought that was so clever - a way to get something of the “it’s a…!” moment that you get in the delivery room.
Posted by Kelly@inthesheepfold on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 9:06 AM (EDT):
That is so cool! I’m sure the baker loved it too.
Posted by Lesa on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 9:40 AM (EDT):
My husband’s cousin had their ultrasound tech write the sex of the baby on a piece of paper. They mailed that paper to their 12 year old neice. She had been battling cancer for about 6 years and they weren’t sure how long she would live. She was the only one who knew the sex of the baby (except for mom, who read the letter to her and grandma, who she told her secret to). She did live long enough to meet her cousin but died within about six months of her birth. Keeping that important seceret made her feel very special and loved.
Posted by Karen on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 10:13 AM (EDT):
Sometimes we find out, sometimes we don’t. The only cutesy way we(I) ever told other than just delivering the news was with #7. The baby was due in late-May which put the “big” ultrasound just before Christmas. After the u/s I went to the store and bought an outfit. I wrapped it up as a present for Daddy and put it under the tree. Opening that present Christmas morning was how he, the 6 brothers and sisters and my mom all found out that they were going to have a new daughter/sister/granddaughter in May.
With another baby, #6, we found out mainly because the kids were DYING to know, we hadn’t found out with #5. Dh went with me to that one. We came home and the kids swarmed us. We made them all sit down and in 1,2,3….“It’s a BOY!!” which was followed by much whooping and yelling by them and the friends that were there babysitting. Ben followed two sisters so his brothers were *so excited* :D
Nothing super cute or original but they are happy memories for me.
Posted by Amy on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 12:15 PM (EDT):
We have chosen, in the past, not to find out. Our last child, however, was stillborn, and now that I am pregnant again, I feel to the need to know as much about my child as soon as I can, for we do not know how long he/she will be with us. With this in mind, we are considering finding out this time. (Not to mention, since I am high risk and will be having many, many ultrasounds, and I am very adept at reading them, I may find out whether I want to or not!)
I love the cake idea (even though I do not like cake). I am also considering keeping the news just to my husband and I. I am looking forward to hearing the responses here!
Posted by Molly on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 1:30 PM (EDT):
Amy, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Our fifth child was also stillborn and I never knew his gender before his birth. (I also never found out the gender of our other children before their birth.) When we found out we were expecting again, we also knew we’d have many ultrasounds and we’d likely figure out the gender even if we didn’t want to. That said, I wanted everything about my pregnancy and birth to be different than the last, so we decided to find out the baby’s gender for the first time. Knowing his gender, calling him by his name, and praying for him by name was a huge blessing! We told our other children by writing a special card and letting our oldest child read it to her siblings. It was a fun day for them. We are so blessed by our sweet Francis! Prayers for you from a mother’s heart.
Hey! My security word is “boys91”!
Posted by Lesa on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 1:35 PM (EDT):
I have two stillborn daughters. We didn’t find out their sex before they were delivered either, only because the us tech said she wasn’t sure about it.
I am also pregnant again, and waiting for the day we can find out the sex of this baby. Mostly because once we get to that point I will be further along than I’ve been in a pregnancy in two years.
I’ll pray for your unborn child. May God bless us all with screaming, healthy children!
Posted by Amy on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 2:54 PM (EDT):
Molly, you read my mind! I love the thought of being able to call the baby by name asap (or as soon as we can, since baby naming is NOT our marriage’s forte. We always disagree!).
When I returned to the OB for the first time (I skipped my annual because I simply did not want to be back in the place where I learned of my baby’s death), I was full of dread. What if the US (done right away for me0 was in the same room wit the same tech? What if I was put in the same exam room, where the nurse could not find the heartbeat? Our Lord was so merciful! The office had COMPLETELY redecorated, even expanding, which placed the US room in another area altogether. My exam was not only in a different room, but in a different hallway. These “little” things brought me much relief. I too want things to be different (although I’d love to have the same nurse in the delivery room. She was an absolute ANGEL when I was delivering my daughter, and I feel like we owe her a joyous moment!)
Anyway, your thoughts are mine, and I do believe the gender we will find out sooner rather than later. I loved the surprise at birth, but this time around, I am preferring peace and comfort over surprise!
Oh Lesa, TWO stillborns. No words…I cannot imagine surviving it twice. I will keep you and your little one in my prayers as well. May I ask when you are due? My DD is October 31st.
Posted by Molly on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 3:59 PM (EDT):
Amy, The Lord is merciful in all things! There were so many things I dreaded about being pregnant after my loss. Every time my doctor would listen for Francis’ heart beat, I would hold my breath. All of those moments, though, were moments of grace. I also wanted to see the nurse who was with me after our stillbirth, but she wasn’t available that weekend. Instead, my delivery nurse was a woman from our very own parish whom I am now able to see at Mass! May you be blessed ever abundantly by the new life you carry. You will remain in my prayers. (If you’re interested, you can visit our blog by clicking my name above and read our story in the posts labeled “Henry Blaise”.) God bless you!
Posted by Sarah on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 12:40 PM (EDT):
I have not done it in a clever way but my last pregnancy was our 9th baby. I went to the u/s by myself so my husband could watch the kids. As I layed down to start I told the tech I felt HUGE. She started and said that is because you are having twins. What a shock. So instead of 9 we had 9 and 10. I called my huband and told him. He said nothing for a few moments and then said “I need to sit down, I think I just threw up.” I laughed and cried all at the same time. The twins and boy and a girl are now 14 month old and the joy of this family.
Posted by Sarah on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 3:19 PM (EDT):
Hi Sarah,
I just got an ulstrasound to get a better fix on my DD (nov 15), and I am so paranoid about having twins—my SIL is pregnant with twins, but mostly because DH and I are struggling enough with the 4 kids we have and this one, though welcome, was not really planned (oh, love that breastfeeding NFP). So I was so glad to see that all looked well with the tiny one, and I had just asked the tech, “so, it looks like only one?” and she said yes. Then a moment later, she said suddenly, “Oh, wait!” and I seized her arm and yelled “Shut up!” you know, in a nice way 
. She looked as shocked as I was—she had changed the subject in her mind and was only about comment on the yolk sac. So no twins, but a funny story. We have never found out the sex, and we love the thrill that brings. however, after 3 boys in a row, another boy won’t really surprise me… so maybe we will take the plunge and find out in 13 weeks!
Posted by Natasha Kerst on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 3:33 PM (EDT):
With our last little one born 2009, my mother in law received the appropriate color of yarn for knitting a baby blanket in the mail from us. With a generation of 13 boys between all her sister in laws and only 2 girls, that pink yarn really made her day! We plan on doing the same thing when we find out in two weeks if baby number four is going to be needing a blue or pink blanket.
Posted by Gwen on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 4:56 PM (EDT):
I didn’t find out the sex of my last baby and every time people asked me “What is it?” (which was OFTEN) I said, “It’s a baby”. I heard quite a few stories from strangers of how they wished they had not “found out” because it was wrong. One woman said she cried when the baby was a boy instead of a girl. It’s funny how complete strangers pour these stories out.
I prefer for my children to meet the baby when they find out the sex. It’s so much more personal. And it would be difficult to bond to a baby you thought was one person only to find out they are someone else.
Posted by Charlotte (Matilda) on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 5:12 PM (EDT):
“And it would be difficult to bond to a baby you thought was one person only to find out they are someone else. “
Gwen,
This is exactly the reason why we did decide to find out. We didn’t find out with #3 since we already had one boy and one girl only 2 years prior to being pregnant a third time but I spent that whole pregnancy just “knowing” that I was carrying a boy. I had no confirmation, but just a really strong feeling. I convinced myself the baby was a boy and even convinced my midwife too. She was as surprised as I was to announce “It’s a…it’s a GIRL!” and I spent the next week feeling horribly guilty like I didn’t know this precious girl. We didn’t even have a name for her! I have heard stories of sono’s being wrong but usually, having to have at least two per pregnancy, makes those odds a little slimmer. I figure if God surprises us with an inaccurate sono, that’s His call, but being a planner and someone who doesn’t do well with surprises in general, we wanted to do what we could to prepare ourselves. Maybe someone who could keep themselves from feeling one way or the other and stay objective wouldn’t have the same problem I did.
Posted by christins on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 5:46 PM (EDT):
My husband always finds out but I don’t. I mad plans with ahead of time with the delivering OB to say the opposite of what ever it was. My poor husband stood there speechless and shocked for the 30 second it took for her to announce the reall gender. It made my 2nd unwanted c/s delivery a bit more fun!
Posted by Denise on Thursday, Apr 7, 2011 10:18 PM (EDT):
With our first child, my husband and I went to a paint-your-own pottery place and painted dessert plates with the names that each family member would be when the baby arrived—for example, Grandma, Baba, PaPa, Aunt, Uncle—and then had everyone over and served dessert (already plated). It was fun as each person got down to the bottom of their plate and revealed the news (and their new titles!).
Posted by Rene on Saturday, Apr 9, 2011 10:22 PM (EDT):
We never found out the gender ahead. With our first, since we were spending Christmas with my family and wanted to share our pregnancy news, we bought several small bottles of Joy dish soap, wrapped them together with ribbon in a “bundle” and everyone played a guessing game when my mother unwrapped it on Christmas morning. (She thought we were offering to do the huge pile of dinner dishes later in the day!)
For our 3rd we made each Grandma an ornament out of a pacifier, ribbon and #3 decals.
Post a Comment
By submitting this form, you give Faith And Family Magazine permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.
